Forte picking up right where she left off

Turnovers key for CSU women today vs. Seattle

By Sean Star Sports Writer

Posted:
11/16/2012 10:30:38 PM MST

LeDeyah Forte, a sophomore for Colorado State, already has 14 assists in two games this season. Her ball handling, and the team's in general, will be paramount to the success in today's game against Seattle.
(CHRIS STARK)

FORT COLLINS -- LeDeyah Forte was put in a pretty difficult situation last year. As a true freshman, the 5-foot-4 point guard was handed the keys to the offense of the Colorado State women's basketball team.

By several measures, she drove just fine, finishing ranked in the top-10 in several categories in the Mountain West: second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6), fourth in assists (3.5), eighth in steals (1.6) and ninth in minutes played (32.2).

Through two games this year, the sophomore from Pensacola, Fla., is picking up right where she left off.

She's dished out 14 total assists, including nine in the Rams' win over Northern Colorado on Tuesday. The nine helpers were coupled with just two turnovers -- drawing praise from first-year coach Ryun Williams, who admittedly can be pretty critical on his point guards.

"I put a lot of responsibility on her shoulders, and think she's handled it really well -- not just offensively but defensively," Williams said. "So I like where LeDeyah's at."

The season is still very young, with the Rams welcoming Seattle to Moby Arena tonight as part of an opening four-game homestand. But so far, Forte likes the changes the new coaching staff has asked her to implement.

"I'm feeling comfortable, but I'm still learning the system," she said. "I think it's good for us -- more spacing, just frees everybody up to do what they're strong at."

In addition to creating opportunities for her teammates, Forte's strength offensively is her ability to get past her defender off the dribble and pull up for a short jump shot.

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"That's kind of my thing, the pull-up," Forte said.

And when she can get that shot, it really opens things up for her teammates.

"That's a pretty good shot for her," Williams said. "I thought she made some really good decisions the other night on some kick-out stuff as well, so that's important."

Taking care of the ball will always be the top priority for Forte, something that plagued the team last season, ranking second-to-last in the conference with 19.5 turnovers a game.

Against the visiting Redhawks, the Rams will get a tough test in taking care of the ball. Seattle has forced a combined 45 turnovers in its first two games, both of which were one-possession losses at home.

In the teams' matchup last season in Seattle, the Rams turned it over 24 times, leading to 29 points for the Redhawks. Those extra opportunities helped turn what was once a nine-point CSU lead into an eventual 18-point Seattle win.

CSU has been better at holding onto the ball this season, but the turnover department remains an issue, particularly today. And though Forte is the primary ball handler, it's up to the entire team to value each possession.

"Actually up to this point, LeDeyah's been doing a good job of taking care of the basketball. Our turnovers are coming from our post kids," Williams said. "Over 50 percent of our turnovers have come from our post kids. So they've got to do a better job.

"Obviously LeDeyah gets us into what we want to get into. Ball security every night is key, especially when you play a very tenacious, quick, fast-twitch Seattle team. It's going to be really critical."